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CNOOC and Shell joint venture starts production at new petrochemical units in China

CNOOC and Shell joint venture starts production at new petrochemical units in China

May 2, 2018

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Shell Nanhai B.V. (Shell) today announce the official start-up of the second ethylene cracker at their Nanhai petrochemicals complex in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China.

Several linked derivative units have also started up and the remaining units will start up progressively over the next few weeks. These new units were constructed by CNOOC and are owned and operated by the existing CNOOC and Shell Petrochemical Company (CSPC) joint venture.

The new ethylene cracker increases ethylene capacity at the complex by around 1.2 million tonnes per year, more than doubling the capacity of the complex, and benefits from a deep integration with adjacent CNOOC refineries. The new facility will also include a styrene monomer and propylene oxide (SMPO) plant, which will be the largest in China when it begins operations.

“The start-up of the new ethylene cracker and derivatives units is a significant milestone for Shell,” Graham van’t Hoff, Executive Vice President for Royal Dutch Shell plc’s global Chemicals business, said. “I would like to thank our partner CNOOC for its excellent project delivery. As the largest single-site ethylene complex in China, CSPC is key to Shell Chemicals’ growth ambitions.”

He Zhongwen, Chairman and President of CNOOC Oil & Petrochemicals Co. Ltd, said: “The expansion project demonstrates great synergies between CNOOC’s engineering, construction and management capabilities, and Shell’s advanced technologies in chemicals. It has been recognised by the government as a role model for major industrial projects in China. This shows what we can achieve through effective international partnerships. We can now produce more and better chemical products for the growing domestic market.”

The new complex utilises Shell’s proprietary OMEGA, SMPO and polyols technologies to produce ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, propylene oxide and high-quality polyols, as well as advanced technologies for polyolefins, phenol and oxo-alcohols production. It is the first time that Shell’s industry-leading OMEGA and advanced polyols technologies have been applied in China.

With a strong track record of reliable and safe operations, the petrochemicals complex produces olefins and derivative products that are used in a wide range of industrial and consumer products, including household appliances, cars, furniture and computers.

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Notes to Editors

The new cracker is world-scale, and adds more than 1 million tonnes per annum ethylene capacity to produce high-value petrochemical products.

The complex benefits from deep integration with the adjacent CNOOC refineries.The expansion enables further monetization of advantaged feedstock from nearby CNOOC refineries, responding to the anticipated strong Chinese domestic demand in the long term.

About Shell in China

All of Shell’s core businesses have operations in China.

Shell has onshore and offshore gas and oil development projects in partnership with PetroChina and CNOOC, both inside and outside China, which help to fuel the country’s fast-growing economy.

Shell’s Downstream business in China consists of 11 joint ventures and eight wholly-owned companies. Shell is one of the leading international lubricants providers, bitumen manufacturers and marketers in China. Shell also has a large network of more than 1,300 petrol stations in the country, operated through joint ventures and a wholly owned company. Shell has four lubricants blending plants and one grease plant in the country.

Shell Energy (China) is a new addition to the Downstream businesses in China.

About CNOOC

The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Beijing. After 30 years of reform and development, CNOOC has become an international energy company with promising primary businesses and a complete industrial chain, and its business covers more than 40 countries and regions. The company has formed five main business segments: oil & gas exploration and development, engineering and technical services, refining and marketing, natural gas and power generation, and financial services.

CNOOC’s core operation areas are Bohai, Western South China Sea, Eastern South China Sea and East China Sea in offshore China. Overseas, the Group has oil and gas assets in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania and Europe.

CSPC has been implementing a strategy of sustainable development and delivering a responsible care commitment in operating the complex, while strivingto be the best petrochemical company in China.It is a highly successful venture that has been a top performer in health, safety, environment, reliability and operational excellence.

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